Life by Committee

Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu follows Tabitha who has a complicated life.  Her young parents are dealing with the stresses of pregnancy, her best friends have dumped her and spend every minute they can making her life difficult and she's in a relationship with a boy who has a girlfriend.  When she finds a mysterious web address in the back of a book she finds a web community called Life by Committee.  She posts a secret and an assignment is given based on that secret. 

I really liked this book.  The main character had a personality that I loved and her problems were those that girls can relate to.  She was being bullied for the body that she got after hitting puberty (It's not slutty it's from the Gap!).  It's a great book about taking control of oneself and making good choices.  The end is a bit silly but it worked.

Appropriateness:  There's a lot of adult content in the book but nothing graphic.  Tabitha's dad smokes a ton of weed.  There's quite a bit of bullying that's very real in the way that girls bully each other for their looks (it would make a good starting point for a discussion of bullying).  The sexual content isn't extremely graphic but involves cheating.  I recommend it to readers 14+

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The Taking

The Taking by Kimberly Derting follows Kyra.  After Kyra has an argument with her father and runs out of the car she wakes up behind a dumpster.  After returning home she finds out that five years have passed and she hasn't aged a day.  She becomes close with the younger brother of her old boyfriend and tries to figure out what has happened.

I enjoyed this book and remained interested throughout.  It was interesting, the mystery was believable and the romance was well crafted.  The plot wasn't that different from others I've read with the same sort of premise (girl has no memory, boy helps girl escape the big bad) but I still was interested. 

Appropriateness:  There is no adult content and the romance involves nothing more than kissing.  I recommend this book to readers 12+

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To All the Boys I've Loved Before

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han follows the half Korean Lara who finds her life turned upside down after the letters that she wrote her past crushes are somehow mailed.  Lara soon finds herself in a sham relationship with a popular boy so she can make her sister's ex-boyfriend (and her current crush) jealous.  Things end up becoming more complicated than she expected.

This book had a bit of a slow start and I almost ended up putting it down.  I'm glad I stuck with it because it was fantastic and romantic.  Jenny is a sweet girl whose half Korean heritage (her mother was Korean and her father tries to help the family stay a bit connected to their roots) along with her close relationship with her sisters and her shy personality make her different from most YA heroines.  The book is the beginning of a series so it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Appropriateness:  There are mentions of sex but just in gossipy terms.  The relationships consist of no more than kissing and Lara is very clear with what she's comfortable with relationship wise and it would be a good means to talk to girls who may be dealing with partners who are more experienced than they are.  I recommend this book to readers 12+

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If I Were a Cow

If I were a cow is a book about a cow who decides he's going to go on vacation from being a cow.  To make up from his absence the other animals move into each others jobs.

I read this book to a group of second and third graders for a book review exercise and they adored it.  They thought the pictures were funny (seeing each animal transformed into another) and the story entertaining.  It would be good in a classroom setting to discuss the different habitats of different animals.

I recommend this book for kids from 4-8